Victorious at the Pápa International Historical Film Festival

And the winners are…

I went, I watched, I judged, and here is what I think about this four-year-old up-and-coming international event.

I was a member of the jury, alongside fellow European Film Academy members maestro director Bruno Pischiutta and cinematographer Claudia Kovacs, as well as London-based rising star film director Marcel Ruizendaal and the founder of the event, film director and Hungarian cultural treasure Zsolt Pozsgai.

Bruno Pischiutta, Claudia Kovacs, Daria Trifu, Marcel Ruizendaal and Zsolt Pozsgai

The festival took place at the Mozi Cinema in the city of Pápa in Hungary, and it started on April 25 with a very passionate speech by the President of the Hungarian Parliament, László Kövér, and comments by the mayor of Pápa, Áldozó Tamás. The beginning set the tone for an intense program of seven-hour head-to-head screenings over the course of two and a half days, culminating with the awards’ ceremony on Saturday, April 27.

Áldozó Tamás, Zsolt Pozsgai and László Kövér

There were 18 films competing in the categories of both feature and short narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, and docudrama. The entries came from several European countries and also from as far as Kenya, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Trinidad and Tobago.

There are some 15,000 film festivals in the world today. That’s about 41 film festivals taking place globally on a daily basis. What makes the Pápa International Historical Film Festival special? It is its creator, Zsolt Pozsgai, whose educated eye for talent dictates the high level of the festival through the quality of the films being shown.

The majority of the films’ directors were present, and, in some cases, they were there with one or two more members of their production teams. The organizers provided travel and accommodation to all their guests, which gave us the chance to meet and get to know each other. This was a blast and proved fruitful in my case for one: I will probably work with a couple of the filmmakers I met in my upcoming feature film project that I am shooting in Greece and France soon.

At this event, I watched one of the best films that I have ever seen. In fact, I will think about any way possible and fitting to involve the team of that film in one of my company’s, Global Film Studio, future productions. That movie is definitely a masterpiece. I also watched a beautiful film where all the chosen actors were impeccable and the artistry of the direction was notable. There was a particularly well-done movie that I enjoyed very much, and it was made by a first-time director who undoubtedly has a bright career ahead! In the jury, we had some differences of opinion, but, for the most part, we agreed.

Here is the complete list of the awards handed out at the Pápa International Historical Film Festival 2024:

Best Feature Film

MVERA – 90 min., Kenya – Directed by Daudi Anguka

STRAWBERRY PRINCESS, directed by Iliyas Akhmet

Best Short Film

STRAWBERRY PRINCESS – 35 min., Kazakhstan – Directed by Iliyas Akhmet

Best Feature Documentary

NIKOLA BEFORE TESLA – 70 min., Hungary – Directed by Ottó Bánovits and Sandor Tako

Best Short Documentary

I STILL REMEMBER – 7 min., Hungary – Directed by Flora Chilton

Best Animation Film

THEY ARE ALL DEAD – 7 min., Spain – Directed by Marisa Benito Crespo

Best Experimental Film

SORELLA’S STORY – 15 min., Austria – Directed by Peter Hegedus

Best Inspirational Film

THE FRONT OF THE INVISIBLES – 70 min., Italy – Directed by Sara Reginella

Best Hungarian Film

MASTERGAME – 90 min., Hungary – Directed by Tóth Barnabás

Best Foreign Film

THE MARTINI SHOT – 100 min., Canada – Directed by Stephen Wallis

Best Actor

Kambar Nurgali in STRAWBERRY PRINCESS – 35 min., Kazakhstan – Directed by Iliyas Akhmet

Best Actress

Larissa Bonaci in MORNING STAR – 25 min., UK-Malta – Directed by Zara Balfour

Anna Maria Sturm in THE PHOTOGRAPHER, directed by Alexander Graeff

Best Director

Alexander Graeff for THE PHOTOGRAPHER – 20 min., France

Best Cinematography

Szymon Kuriata, Radek Ladczuk and Kamil Polak for THE PEASANTS – 120 min., Poland – Directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Kamila Urzedowska in THE PEASANTS, directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Best Soundtrack

Lukasz Rostkowski for THE PEASANTS – 120 min., Poland – Directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Best Editing

Károly Szalai for MASTERGAME – 90 min., Hungary – Directed by Tóth Barnabás

Linah Sande in MVERA, directed by Saudi Anguka

Future Award

MVERA – 90 min., Kenya – Directed by Daudi Anguka

Papa Town Award

THE AVENGERESS – 80 min., Bulgaria – Directed by Ralitza Dimitrova

Andrew Laszlo Award

CHENEENEE – 60 min., Trinidad and Tobago – Directed by Andreas Antonopoulos

Jury Special Award

PARADISE VALLEY – 25 min., Australia – Directed by Abby Garratt

Audience Award

MORNING STAR – 25 min., UK-Malta – Directed by Zara Balfour

The Hungarian and European cultural value of this international film festival is to be noted. It is well organized, and it enjoys the support of the government. Some 50 students from two film academies in Budapest were brought to and provided with accommodation in Pápa, where they were able to attend the festival and interact with the filmmakers present from several countries.

Zsolt Pozsgai has certainly put Pápa on the map, and I am sure that the event will continue to grow and prosper. D!